Dr. Kenichi Iga Awarded the 46th Honda Prize for Pioneering Work on VCSEL Technology
The Honda Foundation, established by Soichiro Honda and Benjiro Honda and currently led by President Hiroto Ishida, has announced that the 2025 Honda Prize will be awarded to Dr. Kenichi Iga. Dr. Iga is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Science Tokyo and served as the 18th President of the former Tokyo Institute of Technology. He is being honored for his groundbreaking conception of the Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL), his pioneering contributions to its fundamental research, and his leadership in guiding the technology toward widespread practical applications.
The Honda Prize, one of Japan’s most prestigious awards in the field of science and technology, recognizes individuals whose work contributes to the creation of eco-technology — technologies that harmonize human activities with the environment. By recognizing Dr. Iga, the Foundation is celebrating not only a scientific breakthrough but also an innovation that has profoundly shaped modern communication, consumer electronics, and emerging mobility technologies.
The Breakthrough of Semiconductor Lasers
Semiconductor lasers are compact laser oscillators that can operate with power sources similar to those used in everyday electronic circuits. These lasers are incredibly small, with sides typically measuring less than a millimeter. They are now an essential part of modern life, powering technologies such as optical fiber communication systems, DVD and Blu-ray players, barcode scanners, and countless other devices.
While semiconductor lasers had existed for decades, their development faced challenges in terms of stability, wavelength control, and scalability. It was Dr. Iga who proposed a completely new approach in 1977: the surface-emitting laser. Unlike conventional edge-emitting semiconductor lasers, which release light horizontally along the substrate, his concept envisioned light being emitted vertically from the chip surface. This change fundamentally altered the laser’s design and opened the door to new applications.
Advantages of the VCSEL
The Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser quickly proved to possess several advantages over conventional semiconductor lasers. VCSELs exhibit stable oscillation at a single wavelength, consume significantly less power, and can be mass-produced with relative ease. Their design also allows continuous variation of wavelength and enables dense integration into arrays, making them ideally suited for advanced communications and sensing technologies.
Because of these unique properties, VCSELs have become essential in modern industries. They are widely used in optical interconnects within data centers, local area networks (LANs), and cloud computing infrastructures, where high-speed and energy-efficient communication is critical. The same characteristics have made VCSELs indispensable in consumer products such as smartphones, where they are used in 3D facial recognition systems and advanced sensing functions.
Driving Innovation in Mobility and LiDAR
Beyond communications, VCSEL technology has also played a pivotal role in advancing automotive sensing. In particular, the technology is critical for short-range LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) systems, which allow autonomous and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to detect and map their surroundings with high precision.
Thanks to VCSEL’s compact form factor and low power consumption, the sensors can be seamlessly integrated into car bumpers, mirrors, or doors. High-density arrays make it possible to emit laser light from multiple points simultaneously, enabling rapid scanning of the environment. At the same time, the technology’s ability to minimize wavelength variations supports the accuracy required for high-precision distance measurement.
These capabilities illustrate how VCSEL technology directly contributes to the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of next-generation mobility.
From Concept to Global Adoption
The path from concept to commercialization was not immediate. While Dr. Iga introduced the idea in 1977, it was in 1988 that his student, Dr. Fumio Koyama (now Distinguished Professor and Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo), successfully achieved continuous-wave operation at room temperature. This milestone was the breakthrough that transformed VCSELs from a theoretical concept into a practical technology.
Following this success, researchers around the world began exploring and refining the technology. To date, more than 60,000 academic papers have been published on surface-emitting lasers, reflecting their importance and global impact. Industry leaders soon joined the effort, investing heavily in development and bringing VCSEL-based products into commercial markets.
Transformative Impact on Society
Today, VCSELs are recognized as one of the most transformative technologies of the past several decades. They enable ultra-high-speed and high-capacity parallel communications in data centers, provide energy-efficient solutions for the rapidly growing digital economy, and power innovations in mobile devices and biometric security. Their application in LiDAR is shaping the future of autonomous driving and smart mobility.
By awarding the 2025 Honda Prize to Dr. Iga, the Honda Foundation highlights not only his personal scientific achievement but also the profound societal benefits of his work. His vision has directly contributed to a more connected world, accelerated the growth of information technologies, and supported the evolution of eco-friendly and intelligent mobility systems.
The recognition serves as a reminder of how fundamental research, when guided by vision and perseverance, can lead to technologies that touch nearly every aspect of daily life. Dr. Iga’s work on VCSELs stands as a model of scientific innovation that bridges academic discovery and practical impact, exemplifying the ideals that the Honda Prize was created to honor.
